Source: Photo Courtesy Of Barack Obama/ Instagram
Former U.S. President Barack Obama announced, via Twitter, that he tested positive for COVID-19.
He made the announcement on Mar. 13 and described a possible symptom he had been suffering from.
“I just tested positive for COVID,” he wrote. “I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple [of] days, but am feeling fine otherwise.”
He added that he and his wife, Michelle Obama, were vaccinated and even took the booster shot before his diagnosis. She took a COVID test as well, which came back negative for her.
“Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative. It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down.”
According to reports, Obama has been the second American president to contract the virus, following former President, Donald Trump, who tested positive in October 2020. During that time, vaccines were not as widely available in the U.S. as they’ve been in recent times.
The 60-year-old has been proactive in trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic. His birthday party at Martha’s Vineyard in August 2021, for example, was scaled back because of health concerns regarding the Delta variant.
Obama originally invited 500 people to his celebration but decided to scale down the number of invites by a few hundred. In the end, 200 attendees showed up and mainly partied outdoors beneath white tents that took up most of his nearly 30-acre residence.
Party guests were asked to take COVID tests before attending the event at his almost 7,000-foot, seven-bedroom mansion. He and his wife reportedly purchased the home in 2019 for $11.7 million.
However, despite his efforts, Obama still caught the virus, which the Center for Disease Control said can happen to vaccinated individuals.
“COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing infection, serious illness, and death. Most people who get COVID-19 are unvaccinated. However, since vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, some people who are fully vaccinated will still get COVID-19,” they wrote on their official website. “An infection of a fully vaccinated person is referred to as a ‘vaccine breakthrough infection.'”
In January, the 44th president thanked medical professionals, scientists, and the government for creating and enforcing vaccines to keep U.S. citizens as safe as possible.
“Thanks to the life-saving work by scientists and our government’s top medical experts, we have COVID-19 vaccines to protect us,” he tweeted on Jan. 19. “This is what happens when we trust science, and hardworking doctors and researchers set out to do big things.”